The Obama administration has been notifying states that federal reimbursements from the Highway Trust Fund are going to start drying up as the fund’s authorization expires Sept. 30, leaving states on their own to fund any highway and transit construction projects.

Rhode Island’s largest current project is the reconstruction of the Providence Viaduct, expected to cost about $150 million. But without federal support, the project will have to shut down.

Funding for the trust fund is being held hostage by politics in Congress. How important is re-authorizing the fund compared with other priorities in Washington, D.C.?

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